1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control system for an electric vehicle provided with an inverter for converting DC electric power of a main battery into AC electric power to drive a traveling motor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A large-capacity electrolytic capacitor is provided between terminals of the input side of an inverter of an electric vehicle in order to smooth the fluctuation of voltage and stabilize the operation of the inverter. To run the electric vehicle, a traveling motor is driven through the inverter by closing a contactor by operating a main switch and charging the capacitor. To stop the traveling of the electric vehicle, the electric charge stored in the capacitor is discharged through a discharge circuit after opening the contactor by operating the main switch (see Japanese Patent Application No. 6-161535).
However, because failure of the discharge circuit or the contactor cannot be determined in the prior art, a discharge problem with the capacitor might occur if the discharge circuit or the contactor fails.